An Education
by tickledpink92
Summary: A story of teacher meets student, teacher saves student...and forbidden love ensues?
1. Chapter 1

12/31/2012

**I love stories where they meet for the first time and I haven't seen too many lately. So I wrote one. Enjoy **

Aria Montgomery sat in first period, surrounded by her three best friends. It was the first day of school, and having spent the last year in Iceland, the first day back in Rosewood for her. She'd lost touch with her friends in that time, yet here they were, ready to celebrate her return with hugs and a side of gossip. In all honesty, Aria was a little overwhelmed with the sudden socialization; living a small city miles away from Reykjavik and the rest of humanity had bred a sort of introversion within her. But Hannah soon shooed away any awkwardness with her quirky ways, and Aria felt like she was home.

"Okay guys, we need to fill Aria in on the Lisbon matter before she walks in. Volunteers?" She quickly answered before anyone could jump in.

"Okay I'll go. Lisbon is the AP English teacher this year and she has this thing where she's…I don't know, gorgeous? And she will be the reason why I don't have a date for Prom this year because all the guys flirt with her and no one pays to attention me when she's around."

Aria laughed, as Spencer smacked Hannah across the head.

"You're an idiot, Han." She declared.

"Ouch! Spencer, I will sue you for that and I will get your mother to represent me and then I will win and take all your money. Seriously though, this is all I can think about. I hate that she has to teach this course."

"Hannah, there are plenty of guys who will take you to Prom. And newsflash, you have the whole year to reel one in." Emily assured her.

Aria wiped away her tears of laughter. "Obviously I need to see this beautiful goddess who's out to ruin Hannah's one true chance at love and happiness."

Hannah groaned as the classroom door opened and in entered her cause of discontentment.

"Good morning everyone," she said walking to her desk, her exposed long legs the attention of every male in class. She was well dressed, yet her outfit seemed a tad risqué and inappropriate for school. Either that, or Aria's little village private school in Iceland had been extremely conservative.

"Looking good, Marta." Darris Fauxhawk hollered.

Ms. Lisbon smiled and chided him lightly. "That's Ms. Lisbon to you, darling. But thank you." She gave him a brief wink, eliciting oohs and ahhs before the door opened once again, and in entered a young man clad in dress pants and a sweater vest.

"Wow," Hannah breathed, echoing Aria's thoughts.

Ms. Lisbon herself seemed at a loss for a moment before she cleared her throat, running a hand through her dark red locks.

"Hey, you must be Ezra Fritz?" She asked, giving him a wide smile.

_Damn_. He thought. Ezra Fitz allowed himself a second to check out the hot teacher in front of him before assuming professionalism once again. If there was anything he was good at, it was hiding emotion. Especially after the very recent and most brutal breakup he'd gone through, he realized that he needed to stay away from women for awhile. And that included his eyes.

"It's actually Fitz, but I'll take it." He chuckled, smiling back friendlily. "Can I uh…come in?"

"Uh…yeah, sure. Sorry to…nevermind." She laughed nervously, motioning him inside.

Hannah turned to Aria and smirked as if to say, "That's what she gets for flirting with every guy I've liked." But Aria wasn't paying attention, she was too busy studying Mr. Fitz Not Fritz. She realized that perhaps her gaze was a bit too intense when he suddenly looked at her straight in the eye. Averting her eyes quickly, she felt a blush creep onto her cheeks. She couldn't blame Ms. Lisbon, the man had magical powers.

Ms. Lisbon found her voice in time to introduce him to the class. "Everyone, I'd like you to meet our new student teacher this semester. He'll be teaching here next year so this is really just a trial run for him, if I'm correct?" She asked, facing him.

"Well, almost." He flashed her a quick smile before addressing the class. "I'll actually be teaching at Hollis. This session is mostly to help me get a feel for the teaching environment and the students who will most likely be taking a class of mine next year."

"Ooou, Professor Fitz." Ms. Lisbon crooned.

Mr. Fitz gave an awkward laugh. "Yeah," He answered, unsure of how else to reply.

She flushed slightly. "Alright everyone, why don't we take five to each write two truths and a lie about ourselves, and while that's going on, Mr. Fitz will come around and get to know you guys while I finish getting organized? Sound good?" She asked, turning to the student teacher.

"Let's do it," Ezra replied, looking around at the faces. Everyone except one student was looking at him; she had her head bent, seemingly writing in some sort of journal.

Ms. Lisbon blushed beet red. "Er…yes, let's."

Ezra walked off before he could turn her purple. He wondered if she was attracted to him.

Walking around, he made mental notes of each student: if they seemed into their writing, who sat in the back, who seemed to disregard the assignment to write in her leather bound book. He wondered if he should reprimand the girl or ask what she was writing about. Curiosity got the better of him.

"Have you published?"

Aria started at the sound of the deep voice beside her, dropping her pen on the ground.

"Do you always sneak up on people like that?" She asked, reaching for it.

Mr. Fitz smiled in amusement as he picked it up before she could.

"Naturally. Is there any other way to sneak up on people?" He nodded at her notebook. "What are you writing about?"

Aria hesitated for a second, wondering what to say. "Just…ideas."

"For…" He urged on.

"For stories. I write short stories." She laughed nervously.

"Hmm…I'd love to read one some day."

Aria smiled. "They're mostly private. Just for me."

Mr. Fitz opened his mouth to continue the conversation but thought better of it. He'd spent more than enough time acquainting himself with this curious girl. And judging by the constant looks the other girls were giving him, jealousy was in the air.

"Alright, well…if you're withholding some sort of literary masterpiece because of "privacy," I will hold you accountable. Carry on."

Unexpectedly, he gave her a wink before walking away. _Why did I just do that? _He questioned, turning his back away as he approached other students.

Aria coloured at the gesture, quickly eying her friends to see if they had noticed. They were all still busy with the assignment. _Cut it out, cheeks._ She thought. _He was just being friendly. _

Ms. Lisbon called Mr. Fitz to her desk just as he'd started talking to Dan Farrin, asking if he had his phone with him because she'd left hers at home and the school clock wasn't working.

"Uhh..sure." He appeased, handing her his phone, albeit reluctantly. He thought about some of the embarrassing pictures on his phone and groaned inwardly. Did he really have a choice though?

"Thanks, Ezra. It'll just be for the duration of the period. Oh, should I put my number in your phone while I have it?" She asked.

Ezra agreed, standing awkwardly as she tapped it in.

"Are you going to the teachers' social tomorrow night? Should be fun. It'll be good for you to meet the faculty."

"Err…I wasn't sure if I was allowed to go, being a student teacher and all." He began. "But you could always take me as your plus one." He grinned.

"Oh, right…of course, I mean I'd love to." She answered, slightly flustered.

"Great._"_ He shot her a quick smile before they both turned to face the class. Ezra's eyes immediately met the girl with the notebook and he quickly looked away. _What was with him?_

"Alright, kids!" Ms. Lisbon announced, "The bell will ring in about a minute since today's a half day. We will present the assignments next class, and begin on our first novel. So be there!"

The bell sounded and the chatter began as people left for third period. Ms. Lisbon asked Ezra if he wanted to grab coffee during their spare, and he agreed. He waited for her to collect her things, saying bye to students as they left. From the corner of his eye, he could see the girl with the notebook making her way to the door with her friends. One of them called her Aria. _A beautiful and name. Well suited._ He thought immediately, before mentally berating himself once again.

"Goodbye, Aria." He said with a smile as she walked by, trying desperately not to catch his eye.

She looked up and smiled without responding.

_Later that night, approximately 9:14pm._

Ezra Fitz drove through town, lost in thoughts of his ex-girlfriend. It was raining hard, and nothing helped relax him or clear his head more than driving in the rain. She'd broken up with him two weeks ago, after a two year relationship. It was the longest he'd ever had, and the best he thought he'd ever get. But it turned out she didn't feel that way. She'd moved on to another guy from her old college, and here he was, still hung up over her.

Half an hour and many a blocks later, he wondered if he should go home. But the thought of going to an empty apartment was too depressing. So he turned into the first residential street he saw and decided to see where it took him.

The rain began to beat down harder as he drove through the empty roads. It seemed as if he was the only lunatic outside, before he spotted a little figure on a porch, punching keys on a phone. As he got closer, he realized it was Aria. _Of all people_. Driving snailpace, he realized she was frustrated with her phone. Maybe she had to get somewhere and had no reception? Should he stop and ask?

He hesitated, wondering if it was in his place. But then again, he couldn't exactly call himself a prospect teacher and leave one of his students out in the cold rain. Making an executive decision, he decided to stop. She noticed the car. He opened the door. She saw who it was-and ran towards it.

Once inside, she shut the door shivering and breathing heavily. Ezra didn't utter a word as he watched her buckle her seatbelt in, her hair splashing him with drops of rain as she did. She was quite a sight. Noticing that she was still shivering, he took off his coat and offered it to her.

She looked up at him and smiled genuinely. "Thank you, Mr. Fitz."

"Anytime. You looked like you had somewhere to be."

"Well, I was exactly where I needed to be, except without a key." She told him.

He raised an eyebrow.

"My parents are out of town until tomorrow and I left my only copy of the key at home. So, I'm pretty much homeless right now." She explained.

"Ahh. The classic key debacle." He joked, "Happens to the best of us. Well, do you have somewhere else you can go? A friend's house, maybe?"

Aria sighed, looking out the window. "None of them are picking up. They're at a party that I am sure will not break up until early morn. I'm pretty screwed as of now. May have to check into a motel or something."

"No, don't do that." He seemed genuinely horrified.

She giggled. "I really don't have much choice. The two things I need right now are warm clothes and a bed."

Ezra thought for a moment. "How about this, how about we drop by the laundry mat at my place so you can dry your clothes, and in the meantime I'll lend you some clothes?"

Aria stared at him. "Are you sure? I mean, wouldn't that go against the teacher's code or something?"

He chuckled. "I'm pretty sure they don't have a section on lending your laundry machine to students, Aria." He threw her a wink.

She smiled, biting her lip. Her name sounded really good on his lips. "Actually, I'm pretty sure that's the second amendment, Mr. Fitz."

He shook his head, laughing. "We're here."

Aria looked out the window at the apartment building in front of her. _Not too shabby, Mr. Fitz. _She got ready to get out of the car but he stopped her with the shake of his finger. Climbing out of the car, he ran around and opened her door.

"After you, m'lady." He said, getting drenched in the rain.

Aria smirked, watching him shiver. "You could've spared yourself."

"And risk the death of chivalry, absolutely not." He grinned.

They both ran inside the building and up to apartment 3B. Aria could feel the her student teacher's nervousness as he fiddled with his keys; she could tell that part of him was wondering what the heck he was doing.

"I really appreciate this, Mr. Fitz." She said to put him at ease. "I would've been royally screwed if it weren't for you."

"Don't mention it." He replied, opening his door and ushering her in.

"Wow." Aria breathed, looking around. His apartment was a writer's dream. He even had a vintage typewriter.

"Do you use this?" She asked incredulously, tapping away.

"Mostly as a paperweight." He laughed.

Aria raised an eyebrow. There was paper in it.

"Okay, so maybe occasionally." He admitted embarrassedly. "I can be…technologically challenged, at times."

"That's kind of cute." Aria didn't realize what she'd said until he cleared his throat awkwardly.

"I didn't mean-"

"I'll just go get the clothes and then we can head to the laundry room." He said hastily, making a swift escape.

"it like that." Aria sighed. "You've done it now." She muttered to herself, walking around the rest of the room. Looking around, she spotted a conversation piece that could potentially offset the tension when he got back. It was a picture of Mr. Fitz chomping down on a hot dog from the famous hot dog stand in Reykjavik, the Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur. He wasn't alone.

"Here we are, two pairs of sweatpants and two tees each."

Aria graciously accepted the clothes. "You've been to Reykjavik." She stated, motioning to the picture.

Ezra ran a hand through his hair, staring at the picture. He wasn't particularly fond of it.

"Yeah, last summer. You've been too, I'm assuming?"

"I lived just outside Reykjavik for a year. But I was actually in the city during the summer, taking some classes and I always stopped by this hot dog stand. We could have very well ran into each other without knowing it."

Ezra disagreed, shaking his head. "I think I would have remembered you."

Aria didn't know how to respond so she asked about the girl in the picture. "Is that your friend?"

"Girlfriend, actually. Well, ex." He gave her a tight smile, walking away from the picture.

"You mentioned some writing classes? What were they about?"

Aria could spot a sore subject when she saw one. Also, he made it quite obvious. The ex-girlfriend was clearly still a part of his life.

"Yeah, it was mostly studying older forms of English. We travelled to England, France, and some parts of Switzerland to study where the greats studied."

"I'm impressed." Ezra told her truthfully. "Do you want to be a writer?"

"Not just a writer. I want to leave a mark on the literary world. I know it's a little…out there." She laughed nervously. _I can't believe I just told him that._

Ezra stared at her, unblinking. "Repeat that without the last part."

Aria gazed back. "Not just a writer. I want to leave a mark on the world of literature."

He smiled, patting the seat next to him on the sofa until she sat. "That's better. Never sell yourself short. I do have to tell you though, if you want to really write, you need to let someone read and criticize your work. Like those short stories you won't let me read. That's how the great writers did it. Take F. Scott Fitzgerald and-"

"Hemingway. I know." She thought for a second. "I'll bring one to class tomorrow. It's a little rough but-"

"Do I need to make you repeat that sentence over too?" He asked, giving her a look.

Aria laughed, fixing a strand of stray hair. Ezra seemed mesmerized by the action. For the first time, he let himself look at her. Really look at her. And he found that he couldn't look away.

Aria seemed to hold in her breath as he did so, not daring to break the moment. She didn't know what was happening and part of her told her to stop it, but she didn't want to.

Finally, Ezra seemed to get out of his trance. "I, uh…uhm should we get going?"

"Yeah," Aria got up. "Let's go."

They changed in separate rooms and headed down to the room, only to find that it was closed.

Ezra shook his head, exasperated. "You have got to be kidding me."

Aria worried about what she would do. She had to get her clothes dry. There was no way she could stay the night at one of the girls' houses with Mr. Fitz's clothes on. Ezra seemed to be thinking the same thing.

"I guess you could stay the night." He said unsurely.

Aria could see the battle taking place in his head.

"No, I couldn't do that." She thought quickly. "I'll just book a motel online and then take it from there."

"No." He told her firmly. "There is no way I'm letting you do that."

"You don't have to "let" me do anything, I can make my own choices." She told him, slightly irritated.

"Aria, there is no way you're staying at a motel in Rosewood. End of. You can sleep in my bed-" He flushed and quickly moved on, "and I'll sleep on the couch. Your clothes can dry on the heater overnight."

"Mr. Fitz, thank you but-"

Realizing there was only one way to win the situation, Ezra grabbed her clothes out of her hands and made a mad dash towards the stairs. Aria stood in stunned silence for about a second before sense kicked in and she ran after him.

It was going to be a long night.


	2. Chapter 2

01/08/2013

**Hi guys, I just wanted to say thank you so much for the lovely reviews, I really loved reading them. You guys are the sweetest3. I hope you like this chapter! Please review if you enjoy it or even if you've got any constructive criticism. xo**

Aria finally reached the third floor, panting and out of breath. Either Mr. Fitz was closely related to Usain Bolt or she was completely out of shape. It wasn't like a girl of her stature needed to exercise anyway, and there were few occasions that required her to chase an English teacher to his apartment. Shaking her head at the weirdness of it all, Aria knocked on his door. After the third knock, she decided to take matters into her own hands and turned the knob to see if he'd left it unlocked. He hadn't.

"Mr. Fitz!" She yelled, banging her fists on the door. "Open this door right now!"

Still no answer. Aria groaned, before realizing that she had another way to get in.

"You want to play games." She muttered, taking out a handy safety pin from her bag. "Let's play." Her days at Girl Scouts were finally coming to use. Undoing the pin, she carefully maneuvered it into the lock and swiftly turned it like a key. Instantly, the door unlocked. Aria smiled wickedly; she was in.

"You picked the wrong-" She started to say, walking in with her faithful safety pin. But Ezra was nowhere to be seen. He'd hung her clothes up on the heater in the living room, but he was nowhere in sight. Should she just leave with her clothes? _No, what if he's hurt?_ She thought to herself. Deep down, she knew that was unlikely and that the reason she couldn't leave was because she didn't want to.

"Mr. Fitz?" Aria called, "If you jump out at me, I swear to God."

She cautiously walked through the hall. There were two rooms, and both were shut. Aria hesitated in front of the first; it was one thing to break into his house, but invading his room? That just seemed to cross the line. Not that she knew where that line was with them.

Placing her ear to the door, she listened for movement of any sort-there was none. There was really no other option besides opening it.

The room turned out to be his bedroom. Aria smiled, shaking her head at the pile of clothes on the floor. Clearly he had floor-style. She wanted to snoop around but forced herself to close the door once sure he wasn't there. As she neared the second door, she heard a voice singing. It sounded like a dying cat. Laughing, Aria swung the door open-and met a topless Ezra Fitz clad in a towel.

"AHH!" They both yelled simultaneously. Aria quickly shut the door, her heart beating fast.

"I'm so sorry! I'll show myself out." She called, racing to grab her clothes and make a quick escape. There was no way she could face him after that.

Ezra opened the bathroom door and met her in the living room, still in just a towel.

"Aria, relax! Put your clothes back." He ordered. She put a hand over her eyes as he moved to take her clothes once again.

"What are you doing, Aria?" He chuckled. Hiss voice sounded incredibly close.

"Mr. Fitz, I'm sorry I broke into your apartment and-" she told him, hands still covering her eyes.

"Shut up and open your eyes," He told her, still laughing. He took her hands away and she complied.

"Are you calm now?" He asked, smiling amusedly. She nodded.

"Alright, I'm going to go throw a shirt on. Can I trust you not to escape?" She nodded once again.

"Okay," He said, slowly walking backwards to the bathroom, as if to keep an eye on her.

Aria sat on the couch, head in her hands. _What the hell did I just do? _She thought. Ezra soon returned, and watched her silently.

"You know, I've never known anyone with a criminal record before." He told her. "Well, minus parking tickets of course. But anyone with a history of breaking and entering?" He looked thoughtful. "Nope, can't say I know anyone."

Aria threw a cushion at him. "Stop it." She laughed. It hit his arm, and he pretended to lose his balance from the impact.

"And now assault too!"

Aria rolled her eyes good-naturedly as he walked over to lock the door. "Hey, you stole my clothes, remember?"

"_That's_ your excuse?" Mr. Fitz asked, "Try telling that to the police, Miss."

Aria threatened him with the cushion once again before succumbing to a yawn, and lying down on the couch.

"Do you have a blanket I could borrow?"

Somewhere along the line, she'd stopped calling him Mr. Fitz. She'd started saying Ezra in her head, but thought better than to let him hear her say it out loud. So Aria stuck with calling him nothing.

"I do, but you'll have to carry your tired self to my room. I already have the bed set up."

She stared at him wide-eyed. Surely he didn't mean….

"You're sleeping in my spot." He explained. "What, did you honestly think I'd let you sleep on an ancient couch?"

"No, I just…I thought…never mind." She mumbled, getting up.

"No, indulge me. Whatever did you think I meant?" He grinned at her sour expression.

Aria bit her lip, trying to hide a smile. He sure was a piece of work.

"You're a piece of work, you know that?" She told him. "Anyway, I wouldn't feel right stealing your bed. I really don't mind sleeping on the couch."

"She says, rising from the couch. If you really meant that, you'd still be lying down." He joked.

"This is true." She admitted.

He got out a blanket and some pillows from a closet, telling Aria where everything was in case she needed anything at night.

"And there're a couple extra toothbrushes in the mirror cabinet." He finished, straightening his pillows. "Any questions?"

"Yes, where do you keep your straightener?"

"I'm sorry…what?" He asked, confused.

"I'm kidding." She smiled. "You just seem to have everything."

"Ah," He laughed. "My ex-girlfriend was very high maintenance." He explained.

"Do you realize you just spoke about her _without _that I-can't-believe-she-left-me expression?" Aria asked in amazement. "I'm shocked. And very proud." She smirked.

"_You _are a piece of work, Ms. Montgomery."

Aria winked, yawning once again. "Alright, I better head to bed. Any suggestions on which toothbrush I should use tonight?" She snickered, walked down the hall.

"Very funny." Ezra muttered, settling into his couch. As soon as Aria entered the bathroom, a though popped into his head and he grinned, running to the bedroom to leave her a present he thought she'd enjoy.

Aria turned in nearly half an hour later, and noticed an iron with a note attached to it on the bed.

"_Makeshift hair straightener," _it read in messy scrawl.

Aria laughed. _Typical_, she thought. She thought about how it would all be over by tomorrow morning. They would go back to being teacher and student respectively, they would no longer be _this-_whatever they were now. It saddened her.

**Ezra** woke to a burning smell. Looking around, he realized that it was the heater-Aria's clothes were burning. Swearing, he jumped off the couch to fill a big bowl with water and threw it at the heater. The little clothing that he had manage to salvage not only smelt like ashes but was also wet.

"Ez-Mr. Fitz?" Aria called in a confused voice. She stood rubbing her eyes, disoriented and trying to see through the slight smoke that filled the living room. The fire alarm had gone off moments before and woken her up.

He gave her an apologetic look, holding up a piece of what used to be her tunic. "I'm sorry, Aria. I couldn't save them."

Aria walked through the haze to the heater. She fingered the tunic her mother had brought for her from Milan. Not that that mattered-the main issue at hand was that she now had absolutely _nothing_ to wear to school today. Her parents didn't get home until the afternoon, and there was no way she was asking her friends-that required telling them what had happened and she wasn't ready to do that.

_She looks so distraught._ Ezra thought, watching her. The clothes must have meant a lot to her or something. He wasn't female-he didn't understand this stuff.

"I will pay for the damage, Aria. I really am sorry." He ran a hand through his hair. "I swear I leave wet clothes on this thing all the time. It's never happened before."

Aria gave him a small smile. "It's…it's not the clothes. It's just that I have nothing to wear to school today. I can't wear your clothes. And if I skip, my parents will wonder why and it's-" Sighing, she shook her head. "But it's not your fault. And I can always figure something out."

That only made Ezra feel worse. He realized he had to help her somehow. "Aria, I got you into this-I will get you out."

Grabbing his keys, he started for the door.

"Where are you going?"

"I know it's still early, but there must be some boutique or something open now. I will scour the city if I have to. But I will be back in time for school, don't you worry."

Aria watched him slipping on his coat. _He's serious._ She thought.

"You would do that for me?" She asked slowly.

"Hey, I'm on a mission, remember? Keeping chivalry alive and all that." He threw her a quick lopsided smile.

"I've never met someone so goal-oriented." She joked. "That's really sweet of you. But also crazy, especially considering the fact that you haven't brushed your teeth."

"Oh…yeah, I'd better do that first, huh?" Ezra chuckled, taking off his coat.

After he'd dealt with the washroom, Ezra changed into jeans and a tee. He walked into the living room, putting on his belt. There he found Aria packing two sandwiches into a bag.

"What are you doing?"

"Packing our breakfast. I'm coming with you." She told him, licking cream cheese off her finger. "Also, I nicked a pair of your boxers, I hope you don't mind." She threw in casually.

"Yeah, no problem." He replied equally casually. They'd pretty much ditched social norm ages ago, anyway. "But you don't have to come, Aria."

She gave him a look. "How will you know what fits me?"

He looked her up and down. "I think I've got a pretty good sense of what'll fit you."

"_Really_?" She questioned. "Alright, what's my size?"

Ezra found himself at a loss for words. Okay, so the truth was, he had no clue what would fit her.

Without another word, he opened the front door, waiting for her to walk out first. Aria laughed, lightly punching him on the shoulder.

Ezra feigned hurt. "Breaking and entering. Assault. Now assault with a weapon that is your steel hand. Keep'em coming, Aria. You'll be paying up in court."

"Kidnapping a minor. Holding a hostage overnight. Arson." Aria listed as they walked down the stairs. "I think you'll have a harder time in court, Ezra. And the pretty boys don't fare so well in prison, do they…Sally?" She winked, running past him.

Ezra shook his head, his mouth agape. _Had she really just insinuated what he thought she'd insinuated? _"What are you trying to say, Aria?" He called after her.

**After half an hour of driving,** they finally came to a shop that was open-a lingerie shop. With school just an hour away, they had no choice but to stop. Aria thought she could at least find a decent top and perhaps borrow a pair of Ezra's sweatpants. It wasn't her style but she could make it work.

"I'll just…wait in the car. You can have my credit card." Ezra said, reaching into his pocket, unable to meet her eyes.

Aria smiled in spite of herself, taking the card. "Thanks. I hate that I don't have my wallet with me."

Ezra waved a hand. "I would've paid for it anyway."

A thought popped into her head and she had to look down at the card so he couldn't see her wide smile. _Ezra's buying me lingerie. _

"What're you smiling at?"

"Nothing." She squinted at the card. "Hey, this has your name on it, and it's not a chip card. Which means you'll have to sign."

Aria handed him the card.

"Crap. I forgot my chip card at home." Ezra sighed. He couldn't exactly ask Aria to pretend her name was Ezra and forge a signature.

"I am not pretending my name is Ezra." She told him, reading his thoughts. "I already look like a guy, please don't take away the last ounce of femininity I have left."

"I wasn't going to ask you to do that, Aria." He said hastily. "Besides, I'm you teacher, remember? What kind of example would that be setting."

Aria snorted. "Right. Good one."

Ezra gave her a look and breathed out slowly. "Okay, let's do this. How about I wait outside and you…do your thing and call me when you're ready to cash out?"

Aria agreed, relieved. Once inside, she set to work, quickly scouring the place for tanks or sleeved lingerie tops. The sales assistant who came to her aid gave her a onceover, slightly wrinkling her nose as she took in the baggy sweats. Aria returned the favour, wrinkling and all. The assistant pursed her lips.

"So you are looking for a long sleeved shirt? Do you realize this is a _lingerie_ shop, ma'am?"

"I am perfectly aware of what this is, _ma'am_." Aria replied. "What I would like to know is if you have anything that I could possibly wear in public and still look half respectable?"

"Respectable." She repeated, glancing at the hint of Ezra's boxers hanging out from the sweatpants. "Right. This way, madame."

She led her to the back of the store, where there were a pile of imprinted t-shirts in a box. Aria looked through the pile, sifting through the really racy ones before settling on a t-shirt that simply said "Eat me." Which Aria decided could mean many things besides the Urban Dictionary definition.

"I'll take this, please. I just have to get my…friend. He's paying." She explained.

The saleswoman didn't seem surprised. "Very well."

"Mr-" Aria started, opening the store door-before realizing Ezra wasn't alone. Ms. Lisbon was there with him. They both turned to look at Aria, one pair of eyes significantly wider than the other.

"Aria?" Ezra asked in a fake, overly surprised tone. "What are you doing here?"

"I-…" Did he really expect her to say she was shopping for lingerie in front of Ms. Lisbon? "Just shopping," she finally answered lamely. "What are you doing in front of a lingerie shop?"

Ezra glared at her before laughing embarrassingly when Ms. Lisbon looked his way. "I was just…my aunt lives on top of the store. I was just dropping by."

"Wow," Ms. Lisbon breathed. "You are such a dedicated nephew."

"Yeah," Aria added. "I don't know anyone else who visits their aunt at six in the morning."

Ezra looked ready to strangle something. Aria gave him an innocent doe-eyed look.

"She needed milk and her leg is broken so I offered my services." He spat out.

"Well, she's certainly lucky to have you, Ezra." Ms. Lisbon gushed. "I do hope her leg gets better. You know what? I actually have a Get Well Soon card in my bag! I bet she'd love that." She got out a pen and the card. "What's her name?"

Ezra stood in pure amazement.

"Well?" Aria asked. "What is it?"

"It's…erm…Ermintrude." (Shopaholic reference!)

"Aunt Ermintrude?" Aria repeated incredulously.

"Aunt Ermintrude." Ms. Lisbon said thoughtfully, writing in the card. "What a lovely name."

Aria snorted, and Ezra shot her a warning glance.

"There we are, all done." Handing the card over to Ezra, she tossed the pen in her bag. "Well, I have to get going. Gotta get ready for school. I'll see you later, Ezra." She gave him a wink. "Goodbye, Aria."

They waved bye, and waited until she rounded the corner to retreat back into the shop.

Aria wondered if he was mad. She decided to test him. "Hey, I really do hope Aunt Ermintrude gets better in time to see you win Lying Teacher of the Year Award."

"You are a piece of work." Ezra replied, trying desperately not to smile.

Aria laughed, noticing the saleswoman waiting behind the counter. She was staring at Ezra.

"Hello, I'm back with the money." The woman couldn't seem to take her eyes off Ezra, but managed to pry them away for a second to wrinkle her nose at Aria. _She's probably wondering what a hunk of a man was doing with a poorly dressed excuse of a girl_. Aria thought. She decided to give the woman a little show.

"My boyfriend's paying, aren't you honey?" She said warmly, linking her arm with Ezra. He raised an eyebrow at her.

"He's so sweet to me." She told the woman.

"And she's good at spending my money."

Aria gave him a look and he winked. The saleswoman smirked, swiping Ezra's card.

"But she's also good at making me smile." He suddenly added, staring at Aria. "When I first met her, I'd just gone through a really tough breakup. It was all I could think about. And then she came into my life…and I haven't been able to think of anyone else."

Aria stared back, not daring to break the moment. Finally, Ezra seemed to come to and looked back at the woman.

"Of course, that may be because of all the stress she puts me through." He was back to normal. "Forever cooking up trouble, right, Aria?"

She gave him a little smile. The moment was gone and would probably never make a return. Somewhere along the line, Aria had fallen for this man-this man she couldn't have.


End file.
